Chapter 26: Deception

Another beautiful and normal day in Jump City. The sun was high in the sky, the people were happily going about their business and a bunch of super powered villains were in the midst of robbing a gold storage vault for all it was worth.

Just another normal day.

"Move it, sludgefrunchers (does anyone even know what kind of insults the pipsqueak is saying?)! We're running out of time!" the ever annoying Gizmo stated in his high pitched and nasally voice.

Not that it seemed to do much good, judging by how none of his teammates seemed to be in a particular hurry. Jinx was too busy admiring some gems and necklaces she snagged from somewhere, and Mammoth was struggling to lift a pile of gold. He was not having much success in that regard.

"I could use a hand here!" he complained as he heaved again and again, but the gold stubbornly refused to be moved.

"How about a foot?" Mammoth guessed that he could have graciously accepted the offered foot, if said foot had not been made out of titanium and tried to play soccer with his head. With but one kick, Mammoth went flying past his bewildered teammates. Unsurprisingly, they found the ever annoying Titans now blocking their only escape route.

"Titans, go!" and with the usual battle cry, the Titans attacked, eagerly matched by their opponents. Gizmo turned on a holoprojector, causing multiple holograms of himself to appear all over the place. And he was off in every possible direction, being an annoyance like every other kid his age.

Robin tried to land a hit on what he thought was the real one, which turned out to be a fake. That nearly proved fatal as Mammoth came flying at him like an artillery shell, rupturing the floor Robin used to occupy.

As their leader leaped back to safety, Argent summoned twin fists of crimson energy to swat Mammoth aside, but was caught unaware by a kick from Jinx that sent her staggering into Robin. Both of them then had to leap aside as Jinx caused the roof above them to collapse, raining debris down on their heads.

"Three raids in one week? Man, this is seriously getting old!" Cyborg complained as he wildly fired away with his sonic cannon, then he was forced to take cover from the raining debris.

"The H.I.V.E. Academy's new leader must be up to something," Robin commented, right before avoiding getting squashed like a bug beneath Mammoth's heel.

"And wouldn't you like to know," Jinx taunted as she pirouetted while sending out hexes left and right. That ended when a starbolt sent her flat on her back, courtesy of Starfire.

"Yes, we would!" she snarled out before letting loose another barrage of starbolts. But Jinx was ready for them this time and gracefully avoided each and every one. And while they were fighting it out, Gizmo had decided to get in some last minute plunder. The greedy little midget was in the midst of stuffing a sack full with jewels and whatnot.

"Sweet, this crunch should be worth…" of course, his little moment of peaceful robbery ended the moment someone spit on him, an action he did not take kindly to.

"Hey!" he protested in outrage, something that quickly vanished once he saw who had spit on him. After all, last time he checked, there were not an abundance of green lamas around. Especially lamas who could turn into velociraptors with a taste for midget-sized flesh. Unsurprisingly, Gizmo screamed like a little girl and fled as fast as his jetpack could propel him.

Beast Boy tried to give chase after the screaming kid, if nothing else then to shut him up, but his efforts were hampered when a human-sized boulder smashed straight into his position from ground level, courtesy of Mammoth. Not that he had time to celebrate his achievement, considering he was then promptly tackled by Cyborg.

But he need not fear, for Gizmo was ready to return the favor for his big and hairy friend. With a downright wicked grin, he pressed a button on his controller, causing Cyborg to fly up into the ceiling with a startled yelp where he was stuck on a magnet. Humiliation at its finest.

"Oh you did not just do WHAT I THINK YOU DID!" Cyborg started screaming and ranting in the way that only a teenager whose pride had been wounded could do, to the great amusement of his pint-sized counterpart.

"Check it out, the world's dumbest magnet!" Gizmo taunted before laughing like the evil little kid he was. He was promptly silenced when Jinx was smashed into the ground next to him, courtesy of a blast of crimson energy from Argent. In the end, they decided to follow in the footsteps of Brave sir Robin (no, not the Teen Titans Robin).

"Dunk it, let's blow this place!" Gizmo decided as he and Mammoth made a beeline for the door, Jinx staying behind long enough to let loose with her hexes on the place, rupturing the ground and giving her and her teammates time to make a quick getaway, completely oblivious to a red-blinking dot on her back.

It was at that moment that Cyborg finally managed to get free from the roof, magnet still stuck to his back, and he was more than eager for some payback.

"Yo, nobody pulls a science fair on me and gets away with it!" he shouted in outrage, giving chase as fast as his legs could carry him. He did not get far however before Robin stopped him.

"It's okay, Cyborg, we'll see them again. Sooner than they think," he revealed smugly as he held up his communicator, showing a GPS tracking system.

And while the Titans reveled in their small victory, the trio of H.I.V.E. students made their way out of the building and into the safety of a nearby alley.

"Man, that was close," Mammoth said as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. None of the other two said anything, but they all shared his thoughts.

"How much did we get this time?" Jinx asked, surveying the area for possible threats.

"Nada. We had to leave all the loot behind when we ran," Gizmo answered, right before he began grumbling about "stupid Titans" and "stupid robberies". At those news, Jinx let out a groan of frustration. Another failure? This would not look good on her exams.

"Okay, I have to admit; that was pathetic as fuck," someone suddenly commented from above them. Eyes wide with shock, the trio turned to the source, weapons and attacks ready to be unleashed, only to be greeted by the sight of Raven nonchalantly lounging atop a fire escape ladder with a clipboard in hand.

"Seriously guys, what the hell happened to you all? You used to be the top students at H.I.V.E. Academy, now the Headmaster won't let you so much as step foot outside the school without a supervisor to observe your progress," she stated, right before jotting down a few extra lines on her clipboard. "By the way, I hope you don't have anything planned for the foreseeable future, 'cause you're all looking at some extra lessons for quite some time,"

Unsurprisingly, her statement earned her a few share of groans and pleas from her friends, bringing out a smug smile from Raven. 'No wonder my teachers used to smile every time they handed out punishments, this is actually kind of fun,'

"But enough chitchat, let's head back to the Academy, so we can report back to the Headmaster," another teasing smirk was sent at the trio as she jumped down from the ladder. "I'm sure he'll just looove hearing this debriefing," ah, it was so fun to see their faces turn paler than usual.

But it was not all fun and giggles. During her so far short employment under Blood, she had noticed a drastic change in the school, a newer sense of strict regime. Sure, the Academy had always been harsh and discipline had been ruthlessly dealt out when needed, but there had still been that sense of freedom and anarchy that lurked outside the range of the teachers. Just what you would expect from a bunch of teenage criminals.

But ever since Blood took over, even that had begun to decrease. It was still there, perfectly exemplified by the initiation ritual she had watched some poor fool undergo just the other day, but it was more subdued.

Even the students were acting differently in many regards, often acting like obedient soldiers in the presence of Blood for no reason. Under Blood's supervision, H.I.V.E. Academy was no longer a school, it was a fucking military boot camp, and Raven did not like it at all. 'You're definitively up to something, Blood, and I intend to find out what. No one uses me or my friends and gets away with it,'

Well, the debriefing had gone just as expected. Raven had handed in her unbiased observations (she may be their friend, but business came first in this regard. Plus, it was just too much fun watching them squirm in their seats), Brother Blood had ranted and raged at them for a few minutes and then dismissed them with detention and extra homework. Could have been much worse.

The minute that had been dealt with, Raven had gone straight to the shooting range to practice her aiming. Currently, she was using a P90 on full auto against a rapidly approaching target shaped like the upper body of a human. By the time the target reached her, Raven had used the entire clip to decapitate it.

She often liked to imagine that it was either Blood or daddy dearest.

"Hey, Rae!" Jinx suddenly called out as she strolled into the shooting range. Raven had to suppress a scowl as she gave her longtime friend the stink eye.

"How many times do I have to tell ya, don't call me that," she ordered, but Jinx just grinned slyly at her.

"Come on girl, the least you can do is endure that nickname after condemning us to detention," she teased her before a more somber look came across her face. "And couldn't you have cut us some slack there? We're friends after all,"

In hindsight, Raven should have expected this discussion a long time ago. After all, it was always a hassle when work and personal life became mixed.

"Look, Jinx. We're friends, but I'm hired to observe and report how students do out in the field. I can't just show such blatant favoritism to you guys, it just wouldn't work," she explained.

"I understand," Jinx assured her, but Raven could still see a glimmer of hurt in her eyes. Raven certainly did not enjoy it, but for all their sakes, she had to pay along for now and be a good little employee for Blood. At least until her friends were out of harm's way.

"By the way, want to tag along and get lunch?" Jinx suddenly asked cheerfully, all traces of her somber mood gone. It caused Raven to arch an eyebrow questioningly at her.

"Considering you haven't asked me that once since I came back, why the sudden change?" she inquired, receiving a shrug from her pink-haired friend.

"For exactly that reason. Ever since you came back, we've both been swamped by work, and haven't had time to hang out like old times," she explained. Raven did not need long to think that one over.

"Sure, why the heck not?" she answered. Within a second, she had one of Jinx's arms slung over her shoulders as they trekked towards the cafeteria, picking up Gizmo and Mammoth along the way.

They spent the way catching up on missed events. Understandably, Raven had the more entertaining stories to tell from her time working for Slade. Of course, she omitted the tiny detail that she had in fact betrayed and killed Slade, no need to spread those news around. It was as they had loaded up their trays with food and were heading towards their table, that Raven noticed an anomaly.

"Hey guys," she called out, gaining their attention. "You still have the same table as when I went here?" the inquiry was met with a trio of nods. "And you haven't added someone else to the team while I was gone, right?" another trio of nods. "Then I spy a newbie in serious trouble," her answer had all three turn their eyes to where Raven was looking, and what they saw brought out a combination of joy and anger.

"Ohhh, someone's in need of learning the pecking order around here," Mammoth commented as he eyed the dark-sinned man seated at their table.

"Come on, guys, let's show him whose boss around here," Jinx stated with a menacing smirk as she strode towards her new target, her team and Raven trailing behind. Mammoth made the first move, as he came to stand right behind the young man with his arms crossed threateningly.

"You're in my seat," he stated gruffly, glaring at the offender, who could literally only look behind him at the mountain of muscle.

"Hey newbie, this is our table. What do you think you're doing here?" Gizmo questioned as he flew to Mammoth's right.

"He looks familiar. Did you go to Darkway Prep?" Jinx questioned from where she stood on Mammoth's right leaning slightly over the newbie. And Raven had to admit that Jinx was right, there was something familiar about him. But she just could not place it.

"What's your name, punk?" Raven barely heard Mammoth's question, she was far to busy wracking her brain for answers on why he looked so damn familiar.

"Probably something lame," Gizmo guessed, then continued before the guy could even defend himself. "Oh, let me guess. Snotman? No wait, Captain Nose Picker!"

"Do you even have any powers?" Jinx questioned dubiously, right before Mammoth reached down and took the guy's hamburger.

"I'm hungry," was his only explanation before he devoured the thing with one bite. "Get lost!" now, as Raven was technically a staff member in charge of the students, she should have probably put a stop to this by now. But frankly, she was finding it far too amusing to end it now.

"Yeah, scum, take a hike," Gizmo added before dropping one of his devices on the floor beneath the mystery guy's share. The next second, he was flying through the air with an undignified scream, right before gravity demanded its toy back and dragged him head-first into the floor.

Since this technically was a school of bullies, everyone watching burst out into mocking laughter, Raven included. 'Ah, how I missed stuff like this,' she thought to herself as she wiped a tear of mirth out of her eye.

But apparently, the source of all the humor did not find the event to be overly amusing, and he had decided to give the audience a taste of what he was capable of as he slammed his fists together. A blue light swiftly passed over his body, turning flesh into solid stone. He then proceeded to, with but one blow, completely shatter the table he had used to occupy.

Awed silence greeted his action.

"My name is Stone, and it looks like you need to find a new table," the now identified Stone (why did Raven get the feeling that he was lying about the name?) stated with his arms crossed threateningly. Gizmo and the others were quick to change their tune about him.

It was at that moment that Raven decided to make her presence known, having been standing in the background up until that point. One particular thing she noticed right away was the flash of panic that briefly appeared in Stone's eyes the moment he saw her.

"Alright, you've got some muscles, I'll give you that much. but let's see how well you do in combat training," she announced cheerfully, even as her suspicions concerning this Stone fellow grew. 'He seemed awfully panicked when he first saw me, and I don't think that my reputations is that bad. Not yet at least,' even as she led the way towards the training hall, she kept sending discreet glances back at her new charge.

'You're definitively hiding something, and I intend to find out what,'

So far, this infiltration mission had been going up and down for poor old Cyborg. He got in without trouble, he nearly blew his cover at the cafeteria, he managed to instill some small sense of respect into the students, and now he was participating in a combat simulation with three of his most persistent enemies.

But the one and only highlight of the day had to be the fact that RAVEN WAS AT THE ACADEMY! What the hell was she even doing here? From what the Titans had gathered, she had graduated months ago, so there should be no reason for her to be here.

Yet there she was, seated in the control booth with her feet slung up on the computer terminals and a bag of popcorn in hand (where did she even get that one?).

"Alright, listen up! For the sake of the newbie, I'll explain what the goal is, and you better listen, 'cause I don't like to repeat myself," her voiced echoed out of the loudspeakers scattered all over the spacious hall, right before the section of the floor Cyborg and the other three were standing on rose a few feet off the ground.

"This is an obstacle course. Your job is to get your fat ass over the finish line on the other side of the hall, avoiding all the traps and obstacles in your path," as she explained this, another section of the floor rose up at the other end, marking it as the finish line.

"Oh, and as a finishing touch, I'm the one regulating the difficulty level here, and I still haven't forgotten about that stink bomb, Gizmo," there was a definite edge of danger in her voice, and Cyborg did note how Gizmo seemed to pale considerably, not to mention that he was on the receiving end of twin fiery glares from his teammates.

There were even a few snickers among the audience they had gathered, with comments like "he should have learned by now", "bad luck for the newbie" and "they're all toast". None of that served to help Cyborg's confidence in the least.

"Now, get ready! On my mark; 3…" Mammoth was cracking his knuckles in preparation. "2…" rockets extended out of Gizmo's nifty little backpack. "1…" pink energy seemed to crackle between Jinx's fingertips.

"GO!"

"Gamma maneuver!" Jinx instantly shouted as she leaped off the platform, to be greeted by four massive cyclopean robots that rose out of the ground. She blasted two aside with her hexbolts before leaping clear as Gizmo came swooping in with a missile barrage that obliterated the last two.

"Hold on! I don't know that!" Cyborg shouted from where he was still standing at the starting line.

"Then get out of the way!" Mammoth shouted as he roughly pushed him aside and leaped into the fray. Cyborg meanwhile remained standing where he was in indecision.

"Yo, Stonehead, better get it into gear and finish this course, or I'm sending you flying out of this school faster than you can say 'give me a second chance'," with that threat hanging over his head, courtesy of Raven, Cyborg leaped off the platform and into the chaos below him.

More of those cyclopean robots came at him the moment his feet made contact with the ground, these being able to fire lasers from their eyes. Cyborg knocked down one and used it as a club to demolish a second, but two of them ganged up on him from behind, holding him in place while another two fired away with their lasers at him from the front.

"HA, the newbie's toast," Gizmo taunted, right before he let out a startled yelp while avoiding the barrage of missiles that came his way, only to run headfirst into a double row of automated turrets that pelted him with energy bolts.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY, ALRIGHT! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY HOLD A GRUDGE THIS LONG?!" the midget shouted frantically. He received no reply from Raven, but three flamethrowers popped out of the ground and tried to roast him.

"Evidently, she can!" Jinx answered as her hexes disabled the flamethrowers, then she had to dodge left and right like crazy when metal spikes started rupturing out of the floor. It did not help in the least when flying drones came at her in a strafing run that she barely evaded. 'Seriously, girl, take your anger out on Gizmo, not the rest of us!'

But alas, it seemed like there was more than a grudge that was fuelling Raven at that moment, because when Jinx spared a quick glance at the control booth, she found that the gun crazy chick had a soda in her hand now as well! 'She takes waaay too much pleasure from her newfound authority,'

"At least we have a handy distraction in rocko," Mammoth mocked as he crushed a cyclopean robot, then got slammed in the face by a metallic fist that popped out of the floor.

"Hey, that wasn't fair!" he accused while waving his fist threateningly at the control booth, where Raven just cheekily waved her hand back in a friendly gesture. It was then that Jinx noticed something else, something far more serious than Raven abusing her control of the training course.

"Quit fooling around, headmaster is watching," she urgently told them. That got them into gear as they rushed to complete the course, leaving the newbie behind to his fate.

"Did you really think it would be that easy? It seems you need a reminder on just who's behind the controls here," Raven teased them, right before well over a dozen orbs were fired up into the air. As one, they let out an electric shockwave that struck all three of them.

Jinx and Mammoth got away relatively okay, with only a few spasms, but Gizmo had all his gadgets fried, something that he did not appreciate in the slightest.

"DAMN YOU RAVEN! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO REPAIR IT ALL?!" he screamed in fury, receiving a wicked laugh from the aforementioned girl.

"Less talking, more running, shorty," she mocked, right before well over three dozen automated turrets sprang out of the wall and over twenty drones came swooping in.

"I so hate you right now, Rae," Jinx grumbled under her breath as she and her teammates began running like the devil himself was on their tail. Considering the evil cackle that echoed out of the loud speakers, that may not have been that far from the truth.

Sadly, they were so occupied with avoiding the rain of fire coming down on them, that they never noticed the metallic tentacles coming at them until they were ensnared.

"Dammit, Rae! You've been watching way too much Japanese stuff!" Jinx complained when some of the tentacles started squeezing extra hard on certain… places.

"Sorry, Jinx, I just couldn't help myself," Raven defended herself, trying and failing desperately at keeping her mirth contained. But while they struggled in their bindings, Cyborg had managed to break free and demolished the robots coming after him.

With a roar of fury, he plowed straight through the incoming fire like they were mosquito bites. Another set of tentacles came after him, but he crushed them with laughable ease before pushing on, leaving the others behind.

Raven meanwhile had been watching his actions with increasing interest. There was definitively something familiar about him, and she was starting to have a pretty good guess as to who he may be. But before she could be certain, a final test to confirm her theory. With a flick of a switch, two gun turrets rose up from the floor and aimed at the trio of tied up villains.

"Let's see what you're going to do now, Mr. Stone," se murmured quietly to herself as she took manual control of the turrets and powered up the weapons. Stone did not disappoint in the least, as he ripped two plates from the floor and threw them like Frisbees, slicing through the bindings and destroying the towers.

That confirmed it in Raven's mind. This was a school of villains, and the only time you stepped in to save others was when it suited your needs.

"Gotcha," Raven whispered to herself with a victorious smile. Meanwhile, back with Cyborg, he had just freed the other three and they had together crossed the finish line, signaling the end of the combat training. Needless to say, Cyborg was in a pumped up mood as he returned to his "human" form.

"Yes, now that what I'm…"

"Zip it, grapple brain!" Gizmo interrupted him as he nervously eyed the approaching headmaster.

"You! Stone!" the headmaster called out in fury, causing Gizmo to fly back in alarm as the elderly man approached them on a hovering platform. "Sneaking into my school, destroying my drones, making my top students look like amateur pickpockets. You must think you're very clever, but you're not clever…"

By that point, Cyborg was beginning to worry that he might need to fight his way out, and considering the number of H.I.V.E. students mucking about, he highly doubted his chances of success.

"You're brilliant. Well done, Mr. Stone, well done. I see a bright future for you," then the headmaster did a complete 180 and complimented him, right before he turning to something standing behind Cyborg. "Wouldn't you agree, Miss Raven?"

Cyborg nearly leaped out of his metallic skin when he found the girl standing right behind him like she had always been there. 'When did she…?' he asked himself in bewilderment.

"A little rough around the edges, but I can definitively see some potential in this pile of rocks," Raven answered nonchalantly. Cyborg could not help it that stage, and he blushed a bit while rubbing the back of his head.

"Thanks. Erm, great school you have here, Mr… eh…"

"Blood, Brother Blood, at your service," the headmaster introduced himself as he shook hands with Cyborg, right before his expression turned several shades darker and her turned his full attention on Raven's friends.

"And as for you three," by that point, Gizmo and Mammoth had taken shelter behind their leader as they dreaded the inevitable. "FAILURE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! YOU WERE ALREADY SENT BACK AFTER GRADUATING ONCE! FAIL ME AGAIN, AND I'LL HAVE YOU SENT TO YOUR DOOM!"

While he was ranting at the team with red glowing eyes, Raven discreetly let her hands rest on her holstered guns as she glared at Blood's back, an action that did not go unnoticed by Cyborg.

"Do I make myself clear?" and as Blood said those words, the red glow in his yes intensified, and the trio's eyes began glowing red as well. As if a light switch had been turned off, their earlier fear vanished and they turned docile and obedient as they simply bowed their heads and uttered "Yes, brother".

"Outstanding," Blood said with a content smile before platform rose into the air. "In a few days, I will unveil your class project. The culmination of all your hard work over the last few weeks, and when it is unleashed, our foes will tremble in our wake. Tremble!" as he held his little speech, all the students' eyes began glowing red as they cheered at their headmaster, chanting his name over and over.

The only ones not praising Brother Blood like he was the best thing since sliced bread were Raven and the disguised Cyborg. But while Cyborg was busy observing the events with trepidation, Raven was only watching him with a smug smile.

'So now you've gotten a first taste of the crazy things going on around here. Question is, what will you do next, Cyborg?' she thought to herself.

Life at H.I.V.E. Academy proceeded fairly normal after that, with the exception of the hilarious initiation ritual. Ah, it never grew old to Raven. But what she also noticed was that Brother Blood had developed a particular interest in Cyborg. 'Was that old coot aware of his real identity?'

In any case, there was nothing she could do about that, not without raising Blood's suspicion. She had managed to fool him into thinking that he had control over her mind for the moment, but she was uncertain on how long she could keep it up. 'Long enough to get my friends out of harm's way,' she swore to herself.

Still, she always was more on guard every time she was in the presence of the bloody telepath, like she was at that moment. Even though she was not the prime focus of his attention, she refused to be caught off guard.

"So, mind explaining what went wrong?" Brother Blood asked calmly from behind his desk as his cold eyes drilled into the student standing in front of him. A first year student, the guy was just one big screw-up, barely getting anything done right. And after the latest fiasco, that Raven had been tasked with observing on the field, Blood's patience had apparently run out.

"W-well y-y-you see… t-the-ere w-we-ere s-some co-complic-cations a-and w-we…" the poor boy tried to stammer out in fright, but Blood silenced him with but one raised hand.

"Raven, please be a dear and finish what our dear student seems unable to," Blood instructed of Raven, who was sitting on the sidelines with a clipboard in hand.

"He tried to use a rope to climb down from a window in the ceiling, but didn't tie the knot correctly and ended up crashing into a glass cage, setting off the alarm. He then proceeded to scream like a little girl while running away," Raven reported monotonously, eyes never even once straying from her clipboard.

"Thank you, my dear," Blood said with a kind smile before scowling at the squirming student. "And as I have told many times before, failure is not an option here, and you have failed me too many times. You are a failure, and I have no time for failures," somewhere during his short speech, he had risen out of his seat with red glowing eyes.

"Raven, please dispose of this useless piece of garbage," his sentence was delivered with furious eyes and cold voice. Naturally, the subject of his ire tried to plead for his life.

"Please sir! give me another chance, I won't fail you a…" that was as far as he got before Raven nonchalantly drew a Desert Eagle and shot him straight in the head, all without ever taking her eyes of the clipboard. With the nuisance dealt with, Blood returned to his usual kind and charming façade.

"Thank you, my dear. I can see why Slade kept you around for so long, you're a most useful assistant," he complimented her, receiving a shrug from the girl as she flipped a few papers on her clipboard.

"Just doing my job, headmaster," she answered nonchalantly before glancing at her wristwatch. "Speaking of job, you've got a lecture in ten minutes,"

"Ah, that's right. Thank you for reminding me," Blood thanked her before exiting the office, leaving Raven alone with the corpse of his former student. Raven herself felt no regret about killing the boy, but she was worried about the ease in which Blood ordered his death.

As she had learned during her employment under Blood, the man was kind and encouraging to those under him, but only as long as you proved useful to him. The second you failed him, or performed beneath his standards, and you were but a hair's breath away from an execution. That was what worried Raven, for Jinx and the others had already failed once. One more time and…

"How long until I'm ordered to put a bullet in their heads as well?" she asked herself while gazing at the cooling body before her. Hopefully, the Titans would have solved the issue for her before it got out of hand. If not? Well, she had killed her employer once before.

As it turned out, the Titans may have been unable to solve the issue with Blood. At least, not while they were standing there like a group of idiots after having stumbled into Blood's trap.

"The Teen Titans. So nice to make your acquaintance. I'd introduce you to my students, but I'm fairly certain you've already met," oh great, the old geezer had to monologue as well. But that was not Raven's primary concern, Cyborg was.

What the hell was he up to? The Titans must have come here because Cyborg called them, yet here was standing with Jinx and the others. Was he still playing the part of a H.I.V.E. student? Or had Blood finally managed to fully dominate his mind?

"Attack pattern Alpha!" guess he really was controlled by the Dracula wannabe. Oh well, might as well enjoy the fight while it lasts.

"Dibs on the bird boy!" she shouted before leaping at her target, who was more than willing to meet her head-on. She drew her Desert Eagles and let loose, causing Robin to leap back and forth to avoid the bullets before he threw an exploding disc, blinding Raven long enough for him to close the distance.

Twirling his bo staff in his hands, he brought it down in a two-handed swing that Raven sidestepped before pistol-whipping Robin in the face. He staggered back, but lashed out with a boot that struck her in the side, forcing Raven back.

She took the chance to reload and then resumed firing, driving Robin into cover, though not before two bullets slammed into his Kevlar. A trio of birdarangs suddenly came flying at her, but did not get far before Raven shot them out of the air.

"Lame, bird boy, really lame," she called out to him. Too late however did she realize that the birdarangs had been nothing more than distractions, allowing Robin to ascend into the air with his grapple gun. Now he was coming down on Raven with an axe kick.

With wide eyes, she barely got out of the way, but was unable to escape a fist to the stomach that knocked the air out of her lungs.

"You were saying?" Robin taunted. His little victory would not last however, for Raven suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him off balance. A sweeping kick then slammed into his sides before an uppercut knocked him back.

"Like I said, lame," Raven answered as she leapt at him again. He dodged a blow to the head and then blocked a kick to his stomach. He lashed out with a punch that Raven dodged Neo style. She suddenly flipped on her hands and spun her legs like a propeller, scoring multiple hits on a surprised Robin.

But even as the blows left stinging bruises all over his body, he endured and managed to grab hold of her spinning leg. He proceeded to drag her straight into a knee before throwing her into the floor as hard as he could. He came down with a knee against her chest, but she rolled clear and kicked him in the face like a mule.

He staggered back from the blow, coming to a stop next to his teammates. Sadly, before they could do anything, Gizmo came swooping in and trapped the four of them in a force field. Now that only left Cyborg fighting… Cyborg?

Okay, what the hell was she missing here? Stone was supposed to be Cyborg in disguise, so how the hell was he fighting Cyborg? Though the answer came to her when Stone landed a blow on Cyborg's arm, and it shattered. 'A robot replacement? Has to be, Cyborg's armor is way tougher than that,'

But that left another question in her head. Since when did Cyborg get so freaking aggressive? Seriously, he was pounding the robot duplicate like it had stolen his sweetroll. And in the end, that aggressiveness worked against him, because he accidentally shattered the rings on his fingers.

Apparently, those rings were what allowed him to look relatively normal. And with them destroyed, the hologram faded, and his true form was revealed for all to see.

"I knew it! The stinking gatbag is one of them!" needless to say, Gizmo was not overly pleased.

"No, he's one of us now," Brother Blood assured him as he descended on his flying platform with red glowing eyes. 'Yep, he's controlling the tin can,' Raven thought to herself as she holstered her guns and came to stand next to her friends.

"And I'm ready to prove it," Cyborg announced. It seemed to please Blood greatly.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," he announced before holding up the little school project they had been working on for weeks. "This will amplify your power by magnitudes unimagined," as he said this, he attached it to Cyborg's arm, which promptly transformed into his trademark sonic cannon.

"Destroy them for me, and you'll have your reward," Blood promised, and Cyborg dutifully aimed his sonic cannon at his trapped friends. While that was going on, Raven had discreetly drawn one of her guns again, eyes focused intently on Blood's back. 'The Titans are screwed at this stage, but at least they've distracted the old man. First chance I get, I'm putting a bullet in his head. It ends today,'

"Psyche!" and then her plans went right out the window when Cyborg spun around and fired his sonic cannon AT THEM! At least Blood was fast enough to get a shield up in time (since when could he do that anyway?), but that only caused the shot to be deflected into the roof.

"Gotta admit, didn't see that one coming," Raven murmured to herself as the Academy started crumbling around them. But while her friends saw a disaster, Raven saw an opportunity, what with Blood being completely distracted by the Titans. 'Screw you, ya old geezer,'

"Guys, this place is coming down on us, let's scram!" she shouted at her friends before grabbing them and dragging them towards the nearest exit.

"But what about the Headmaster?" Jinx asked as she pointed at Blood, who was still locked in a staring contest with Cyborg.

"He can take care of himself, now let's go!" at Raven's insistence, and with some help from their own survival instincts, the trio ran after Raven, leaving H.I.V.E. Academy behind.

It was about half an hour later that the four of them finally arrived at one of Raven's hideouts, tired and worn down from today's escapades.

"Make yourselves at home," Raven said, right before she collapsed into a worn-down couch, the others quickly following her lead and finding a suitable place to rest in.

"So now what? Should we contact Brother Blood and let him know we're okay?" Jinx asked, only to receive a glare from Raven.

"Screw Blood, we're not having anything to do with that nutjob ever again," she stated with finality, something that Jinx did not appreciate.

"What the hell are you talking about? The guy might be scary, but he's still our Headmaster. We should…" the rest of Jinx's sentence was silenced by an empty beer can that was thrown at her head, courtesy of an irate Raven.

"That bastard has been using mind control to enslave the entire freaking school! Now I have been working tirelessly, ever since I took the damn job, to find a way to snap you all out of his control, or at the very least kill the bastard myself!" Raven's furious revelation had all three H.I.V.E. students up in their seats in shock.

"He was mind controlling us?" Mammoth asked in disbelief, clearly having a hard time believing it.

"That's not possible! There's no way that he could have controlled me without me knowing about it!" Gizmo vehemently denied, clearly refusing to believe it.

"You better believe it, shrimp, 'cause I just risked my butt getting you three out," Raven stated with a sour look. Though honestly, she had kind of expected these kinds of reactions.

"Please tell me you're joking, Rae," Jinx all but pleaded as she rubbed her eyebrows.

"Wish I was, but no," was the answer she received from Raven. But even then, none of them looked fully convinced.

"Please guys, you have to trust me. Blood's bad news, in every meaning of the word. It's best if we all stay as far away from that psycho as possible," Raven explained. A lengthy silence followed before Jinx let out a resigned sigh.

"I'm having a hard time believing it, but I trust you, as does the rest of us," she finally decided, that last part being directed at Gizmo along with a pointed glare when it looked like he was about to argue. Once again, silence fell between them, with no one sure how to proceed.

"Well, you guys can stick around here for as long as you like, but I've got work to do," Raven suddenly announced as she stood up, stretching her sore muscles.

"What kind of work?" Jinx asked curiously.

"Need to cut all my ties with Blood and the H.I.V.E., plus I need to make sure that old coot hasn't found any of my hideouts. Then I need to find work with someone in need of a few dead bodies," Raven explained as she made her way towards the door.

"Wait!" Jinx suddenly called, causing Raven to stop in her tracks and turn to face her. "Why can't you stick with us? None of us are students anymore, after all. We can be team again, just like old times," Raven could see he hopefulness in Jinx's eyes, and she was almost willing to agree.

Almost.

"Sorry, Jinx. You're my friend, but I've sorta grown used to working alone by now. No offence, but solo is how I play the game now," she decided, right before she brought out a communicator from her belt and threw it at a startled Jinx.

"But if you ever get into too much trouble, which I know you will, just give me a call and I'll come and save your sorry asses. And who knows, maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll even do it for free," Raven said with both a teasing tone and grin. A grateful smile was what she received from Jinx.

"Thanks, Rae," she finally said, with Raven just waving a dismissive hand in the air.

"Hey, we're friends, no need to thank me," she said before walking away. Though just before walking out of the door, she had one last thing to say. "And call me Rae again, and I'll change my phone number,"